Balik Kampung 2A: People and Places

This book is a collection of short stories, collected by, and edited by Verena Tan. The criteria for authors is that they have lived in their respective Singaporean neighbourhood for over a decade. Most are Singaporean authors, at least two are expats who have lived long term in Singapore.
There is no specific central theme, but most recall childhood, or memories of the neighbourhood and how they change over time.

As usual with these types of collection, there are a little hit and miss.

The ones which stood out to me were:
The Tontine Leader by Carena Chor, which describes a child's view of her mother running three tontines in the local neighbourhood, taking the risk to supplement a meager income, and the implications of someone not paying their dues.

Enough by Shelley Bryant, telling of a female police officers day, dealing with Thai prostitutes people-smuggled to Singapore, and her sister in an abusive relationship.

Forgotten by Alex Mitchell, describing an old, little known house in his parents neighbourhood, and a son who becomes caught up in his international modern life.

Most were 3/5 star, another couple were 3.5 or 4 star. The above stories were 4.5 stars.
Averaging near 4 stars.